Name: What Dating and Marriage is Like in the Amish World
Uploaded: 2025-09-04T18:30:10.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'What Dating and Marriage is Like in the Amish World' from Theo Von Clips on Comedy Buff. Published 2025-09-04. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'What Dating and Marriage is Like in the Amish World' from Theo Von Clips on Comedy Buff. Published 2025-09-04. Transcript available.

Are you allowed to flirt at school? Like, at some point, do people feel some
attraction?
Like, do you think, like...
Ah, maybe. Maybe. But, so, the school I went to, I couldn't really do that
because, uh,
pretty much everyone I went to school with was either the first or second
cousin.
Oh, I feel that, brother.
Yeah.
Cool.
So, yeah, it's like, it's a tough world.
It is, brother. And, you know, that's why we gotta do some of this redistricting
and rezoning.
Yeah, we gotta, like, rezone. Like, move out, move in.
That's what a lot of Amish have been doing around us and moving out to
different communities, I guess.
It's a good thing that you can, you know, you know, spread the family tree
because sometimes the tree becomes a bush.
Yeah, for sure.
They, like, intertwine with each other.
The Amish population experiences a strong founder effect, meaning that their
gene pool originates from a small number of original settlers.
Most Amish people are distantly related because nearly all Amish in America
descended from a small group of about 200 to 500 founders
who immigrated from Germany and Switzerland in the 18th century.
Yeah.
The genetic closeness increases the likelihood of certain inherited conditions
with some rare genetic disorders,
much more common among Amish than in the general U.S. population.
Do you guys have, um, oh, this says cousin marriage.
Marriages between cousins do occur.
Not first cousin, second cousin does.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
For sure, buddy.
But that, like, it's not really, it's not really, uh, like, uh, forward, like,
hey, you can marry a second cousin, but, but it does happen.
But if it happens, it happens.
Yeah, it happens, it happens.
You're already close.
You might as well be closer.
Yeah, that's right.
Yeah, I don't know how, because we don't have, like, any family tree and stuff.
You don't?
No, but we do have, like, a big book that, that tells us, like, all Amish
communities, like, in certain states, like, who, like, basically a dictionary
for, for, like, Amish people and who's related to who and.
Oh, you have that?
Yeah.
It's basically, like, Google for Amish when it comes to, like, finding, like,
oh, yeah, this person's related to this or how old is this person.
And it's kind of, even got their, like, addresses and stuff.
Oh, nice.
Yeah.
It's like a book where you can go look and see who's who and how old.
And how many kids they have and when the kids were born.
So, that's pretty cool.
Oh, yeah.
Right?
That's kind of how it is.
But it's a little bit different than that.
Okay.
Because they put, like, they, like, they put, like, two different, was it, two
different names on the front, like, whoever, like, put it together and stuff.
Got it.
Because some, because some Amish, like, like, they know, like, who's related to
everyone.
It's, like, it's almost like they're, like, they're happy, I guess, I guess you
could say.
And they, they, like.
Like they're happy?
No, they're happy.
Happy.
Like their, it's their.
Oh, it's their hobby.
Like H-O-B-B-Y.
Like rap, like rap it.
No.
Hobby.
Yeah.
Like, like, like hoppy.
Like, it's something they like to do in their spare time.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's what it is.
Genealogy.
Put it together.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
You got to, somebody's got to know who's related or you got to be able to ask
somebody.
So, could there be people in your school that are your cousin, you don't even
know it?
Ah, no, because everyone in the school, like, they drive there with a horse and
bucky.
So, it's fairly close because we have, like, hmm, let me think.
I, I, I think it's like half, at least a half a dozen schools in our, in our,
like, community.
Okay.
Yeah.
And how do you decide which school you go to?
Whichever you live closest to.
That's it.
Yep.
But you guys don't talk about sex within the Amish community much?
Like at school and stuff, there's not a class that teaches you about it?
Not in school, no.
So, like—
Will a dad kind of take his son and have, like, a birds and the bees talk?
Like in—
Ho—
Ho—
Ho—
Ho—
Ho—
Ho—
Ho—
Ho—
It's kind of the birds and the bees.
Like, the dad will take you and talk to you about how things work, you know?
Yeah, no, no.
Like, all of that stuff, you actually have to, like, figure out and stuff.
Okay.
But, like, since you got phones and stuff, you can kind of, you know, you can
kind of—you
can figure it out.
Like.
But there's some stuff you—I mean, you—but you didn't—you're not allowed
to look at
pornography on your phone and stuff.
No, you're not supposed to, no.
Yeah.
No, I stay away from that stuff.
Yeah, it's bad.
It is very bad.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Um, since you got into Rumsbury, can you get a girlfriend and stuff like that?
Or, like, what are you allowed to do?
Yeah, I can get, like, a girlfriend, like, all that stuff.
But does she need to be Amish?
Preferably, yeah.
But, like, if I were to get a, like, a girlfriend that was not Amish, she would
either have to
become Amish or I would have to, like, leave, like, the Amish.
Do you think that there are a lot of women out there who are willing to become
Amish?
Does that happen a lot?
I know—I know of one case where that is happening, and, you know, I don't
know how often it happens, but it's—it's rare where, like, it actually goes
through.
I know a lot of people want to become Amish, but they're—they're not ready to
make the, like, the final—like, the final step towards it.
So, but, yeah.
What's the thing that keeps them away from that, makes them—makes people
afraid to take that final step, do you think?
I think it's, like—I think it's a loss of, like, your phone, the lights on
the ceiling, the fans on the ceiling, like, the vents and holes in the ceiling.
Like, all that stuff, I think, and then, like, the couch, the TV, and then
whatever else, you know, like, whatever else Hohele, uh, use.
If you have an Amish wife, does a wife have to provide, like, food and sexuals
and stuff for the husband, or is it just—is it always negotiable, or does the
wife have, like, a responsibility for, kind of, food and sexuals and stuff?
Yeah, so, the—the way, like, it's—everyone kind of accepts, like, their—like,
it's just, uh, how do I say this?
It's, like, normal, and you, like, it's where—it's kind of, like, it's where—it's—everyone
has a mutual understanding of, like, what they have to do, right?
Because, like, the woman, you know, cooks, cleans, you know, takes care of
things around the house, and then, like, if she needs help, she'll ask, like,
the husband, uh, for, like, help.
And then, usually, the husband's, you know, gone most of the day working, like,
either building houses, plowing the fields, or cutting, like, lumber, or making
cabinets, or even polishing cabinets, stuff like that.
But, like, they help each other when they're—when they're, like, at—like,
at home, like, if—if it needs.
But, yeah, like, the—like, the wife does cooking, cleaning, taking care of
the kids.
Got it.
And then, stuffing the garden, too.
Right here, it says, Amish women mainly focus on housekeeping, child-rearing,
gardening, and food preparation.
Many manage home finances, have their names on property deeds, and control the
family checkbook.
Women nurture the spiritual life of the children and are active in maintaining
Amish cultural practices.
Yeah.
So, women have a pretty strong voice in the Amish community.
Yeah.
Well, I'd say so, yeah.
Yeah.
And do people start dating within the Amish culture at a certain age, or is it
kind of taboo, or how does it work?
Like, is there a dance, like, at school where you can invite a girl to a dance?
Like, how does dating and that sort of, like, adolescent attraction kind of
stuff like that, where you're trying to get—you know, you're trying to, uh,
you know, meet a girl, or if you have a first kiss?
What's that—how's that whole universe in the Amish culture?
So, like, our school only goes until 8th grade, so we're out of school in, like,
13 or 14, so—
You're done with school completely?
Yeah, completely done, and then you go to work.
Dang.
Yeah, so we didn't—I don't even know what high school is, or public school,
or—like, I've never been there.
Never, ever.
I want to go one day, like—
High school is just doing drugs and trying not to die of, uh, driving while
intoxicated and stuff.
Yeah, like, like, if that ever happens for us, like, our horse will just take
us home.
Right.
Yeah.
That's a Tesla.
You basically have an original—you kind of have, like, one of the self-driving
cars.
Yeah, because if you fall asleep on your horse, you know, it might not be the
safest way, you know, because you might, you know, go a little bit over on the
road, but as long as the people with, like, steering wheels and stuff, they'll
be—as long as they're, like, okay and stuff, the horse will, like, go home.
And, like, so the way it works for, like, dating, if you're, like, what is it?
So, like, 16 and a half, like, some—it depends on the parents.
Like, my mom and dad, like, they weren't really allowed to, like, become, like,
date—like, official boyfriend, girlfriend, uh, until, like, until they were
18.
Yeah.
But, like, in our community, like, right now, like, like, it basically happens
whenever now, like—
Oh, heck, yeah.
As soon as you join, like, the—like, room springer, like, you can.
And usually the way you meet and hang out is through singings, like, after
church or at, like, weekend parties.
That's usually how it is.